French National Assembly Backs Lifting Anti-Russia Sanctions

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and his French counterpart Francois Hollande attend a news conference after a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia.

The French National Assembly has adopted a resolution calling for the country's government to reject sanctions against Russia, the Interfax news agency reported Thursday.

French deputies voted in the resolution 55-44 in what Republican party member Nicolas Dhuicq called a "historic victory" on Twitter.

The resolution relates to European Union sanctions made against Russia in protest of the annexation of Crimea in 2014. It calls for Paris not only to reject the renewal of sanctions in June 2016 but "to begin talks aimed at quickly lifting political sanctions against Russia altogether," including those against Russian deputies.

The resolution notes that the introduction of sanctions did not ease the Ukrainian crisis but instead damaged both French and Russian economic interests, said Interfax.

The lawmakers also stated that they wanted a two-way dialogue with the Kremlin on cancelling of Russia's embargo of France's agricultural produce.

Sanctions will not be lifted before Moscow and Paris agree upon terms of a working partnership to fight terrorism, Interfax reported.